So far, The Mandalorian has been happy to carve out its own path in the Outer Rim. While the galaxy is still reacting to the fall of the Empire after Return of the Jedi, these characters have their own problems and the adventures of Luke, Han and Leia feel a long way away. But in the last episode, “The Siege,” the show hinted that it might begin setting up the Sequel Trilogy, which starts about 25 years after the events of The Mandalorian.
We saw Din Djarin and his buddies infiltrating an Imperial outpost, discovering that it was some kind of cloning facility. As they stared at the bodies floating in the vats, the score shifted to something ominous and familiar. Fans quickly identified this as John Williams’ “Snoke” from The Force Awakens, which itself is very similar to the “Palpatine’s Teachings” music played in Revenge of the Sith during the scene in which Anakin learns about Darth Plagueis.
The implication is pretty clear, then. This laboratory is being used to research the creation of a clone body for the Emperor, a process which also results in Supreme Leader Snoke.
Of course, this is just the latest in a long line of Star Wars score Easter Eggs. For example, Palpatine’s leitmotif is reworked into a joyous children’s chorus in the finale of The Phantom Menace, indicating that despite this looking like a victory, everything is proceeding to his evil plan. Williams also put a lot of complexity into Kylo Ren’s theme throughout the Sequel Trilogy, incorporating elements of Palpatine, Vader and the Imperial March to show his dark influences. This culminated in the heroic Ben Solo redemption track in The Rise of Skywalker, which quotes Leia’s, Han’s and Luke’s motifs.
All very cool stuff. The Mandalorian‘s Emmy award-winning composer Ludwig Göransson clearly understands what makes Star Wars tick musically and so far, he’s knocking it out of the park. And as the show dovetails more with the movies, perhaps we’ll get to hear further musical quotations from across the franchise.
